For whom the infrastructure tolls

DRIVING by the new M50 toll bridge in Dublin recently, I wondered how the Government could be so blind to reality. This new bridge will merely serve as a carpark until such time as the real problem is addressed — the throughput of vehicles at the tollbooths. Investment in additional tollbooths would have provided a much better return.

The recent revelations about the inadequate height clearance in the Dublin Port Tunnel have further illustrated the lack of rigour in infrastructure planning.

However, all is not lost. Recent suggestions that the port tunnel may be sold to the National Pension Reserve Fund is one of the most constructive suggestions I’ve heard in a long time. Road tolls are, in effect, a form of taxation and I believe tax revenue should go to the State and not to private companies.